National Aeronautics and Space Administration

GRADES K-12

Foam Wing

Aeronautics
Research
principles of flight
Mission
Directorate

Museum
in a
BOXSeries

www.nasa.gov
MUSEUM IN A BOX

Foam Wing Materials:

In the Box

Foam wing
Lesson Overview Drinking straws
Fan
Participants in the foam wing activities will learn
about motions and forces, and transfer of energy as
they explore Bernoulli’s Principle. They will also have
the opportunity to wear a giant foam wing while Provided by User
standing before a simulated wind tunnel in order to Paper
experience the sensation of lift. The instructor will
A quarter
present information about airfoil design, lift, and the
Bernoulli Principle for all participants, but those in the
5th – 12th grades may engage in a brief discussion
about the Area Rule and the difference between
laminar flow airfoils and conventional airfoils.

Objectives
Students will:

1. Identify the general design of an airfoil and relate

the design to lift.
2. Explain how the Bernoulli Principle contributes to
lift.
3. Explain how greater curvature on the top of an
airfoil results in greater lift.
4. Experience the physical sensation of lift and drag
during the foam wing simulation.
5. Explore NASA technologies including the Area
Rule and fuel-efficient winglets.

GRADES K-12 Time Requirements: 1 hour 10 minutes

2
principles of flight
Background

MUSEUM IN A BOX
What causes an airplane to have lift? The 18th century Swiss physician and mathematician Daniel Bernoulli
discovered that an increase in the speed of a fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure.

An airplane’s wing has a special shape called

an airfoil. The airfoil is shaped so that the air
Low Pressure
traveling over the top of the wing travels farther
and faster than the air traveling below the wing.
Thus, the faster moving air above the wing
exerts less pressure than the slower moving
High Pressure
air below the wing. According to the Bernoulli
Principle, this pressure differential pushes the
airplane upward, giving it lift. Fig. 1 Wing pressure areas

The Coanda Effect provides another important

explanation for lift. While the shape of a wing (airfoil)
is designed to create differences in air pressure, the
Coanda Effect explains that a wing’s trailing edge
must be sharp, and it must be aimed diagonally
downward if it is to create lift. Both the upper and
lower surfaces of the wing act to deflect the air. The
upper surface deflects air downwards because the
airflow “sticks” to the wing surface and follows the
tilted wing down. This phenomena is also called
Flow Attachment. After the wing has passed through Fig. 2 Coanda effect
the air, the air must remain flowing downwards for the
lifting force to work. The Coanda effect rarely occurs
naturally but it can be produced on the
wing of an aircraft to increase lift by a
factor of 3. Vertical Takeoff and Landing
Trailing Edge
(VTOL) aircraft as well as the C-17
Globemaster III utilize the Coanda effect.
A method to produce the Coanda effect
is to deflect a part of the exhaust from Leading Edge
an aircraft engine over the wing of an
aircraft in flight.
Chord Line
Camber

Fig. 3 Airfoil diagram

principles of flight 3
 In general, the operation for which an
MUSEUM IN A BOX
airplane is designed determines the shape
and design of its wings. If the airplane is
designed for low-speed flight, a thick airfoil
is most efficient, whereas a thin airfoil
is more efficient for high-speed flight. Laminar Flow
There are generally two kinds of airfoils:
laminar flow and conventional. Laminar
flow airfoils were originally developed to
make an airplane fly faster. The laminar
flow wing is usually thinner than the Conventional Flow
conventional airfoil, the leading edge is
Fig. 4 Laminar vs conventional flow
also more pointed, and its upper and lower
surfaces are nearly symmetrical. However,
the most important difference between the CONVENTIONAL AIRFOILS
airfoils is that the thickest part of a laminar
flow wing occurs at 50% chord, while in the
conventional design, the thickest part is at
25% chord (the distance from the leading
to the trailing edges of a wing).

The laminar flow airfoil greatly reduces drag

since it requires less energy to slice through
the air. The pressure distribution on the
laminar flow wing is more uniform since the
camber of the wing from the leading edge
to the point of maximum thickness is more
gradual. The conventional airfoil is still
preferred in commercial aircrafts though,
because it is more resistant to stalling.

So what explains lift? Lift is explained in

part by the Bernoulli Principle, the Coanda
Effect, and Newton’s Third Law of Motion.

Fig. 5 Conventional airfoils

4
principles of flight
 MUSEUM IN A BOX
Activity 1 Paper Tent

GRADES K-12 Time Requirements: 10 minutes

Materials: Objective:

In the Box In this lesson .students will learn about motions and forces as they observe the
Bernoulli Principle at work.
A straight drinking straw
Activity Overview:
Provided by User In this lesson students will experiment with the Bernoulli Principle using a straw and
Paper piece of paper.

Worksheets Activity:
None 1. Distribute a straw and piece of
paper to each participant.
Reference Materials
2. Participants should fold the paper in
None half to make a tent.

3. Have participants set the paper

Key Terms: tent on a table and then predict
Air pressure what will happen if they blow air
Bernoulli Principle forcefully through the inside of the
Camber tent.

Chord 4. Once predictions have been made,

Lift have participants perform the
Newton’s Third Law activity. Instruct students to blow
forcefully but to keep the airflow
steady (making sure not to just make
a short, forceful burst). Participants
will observe that when air is blown forcefully, but steadily, under the paper tent, the
sides of the tent will pull together.

5. Ask the participants: Why did the tent pull together?

6. Explain that the Bernoulli Principle states that the fast-moving air under the
tent creates an area of low pressure in that location, and the resulting higher air
pressure on the outside of the tent pushes the tent downward.

principles of flight 5
 NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS K-4
MUSEUM IN A BOX

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understanding about scientific inquiry

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
• Position and motion of objects

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Abilities of technological design
• Understanding about science and technology

NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS 5-8

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understandings about scientific inquiry

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
• Motions and forces

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Abilities of technological design
• Understanding about science and technology

NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS 9-12

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understandings about scientific inquiry

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
• Motions and forces
• Interactions of energy and matter

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Abilities of technological design
• Understanding about science and technology

6
principles of flight
 MUSEUM IN A BOX
Activity 2 Bernoulli Coin Experiment

GRADES K-12 Time Requirements: 15 minutes

Materials: Objective:

In the Box In this lesson students will learn about motion and forces as they observe the Bernoulli
Principle at work.
1 straw per student

Activity Overview:
Provided by User In this lesson students will experiment with the Bernoulli Principle using a quarter and
A Quarter small piece of paper.
(one per student)
One-inch squares of paper
(one per student)
Activity:
Paper 1. Have participants place a 1-inch
square of paper in the palm of their
Worksheets hands.
None
2. Instruct participants to hold a
quarter, face up between their
Reference Materials thumb and forefinger, about an inch
above the paper square and ask:
None
How can you get the paper square to
stick to the coin without touching the
Key Terms: paper square?
Lift
3. Tell participants to blow a steady
stream of air forcefully and directly
on the upward facing surface of the
coin. This takes a little practice, but
the paper square should rise toward the underside of the coin and “stick” there as
long as the participants continue to blow. Participants may use a straw to blow on
the quarter if desired.

4. Ask: What caused the paper to lift? Explain that the faster moving air above the
coin creates an area of low pressure, and since the air pressure below the paper is
greater, the high pressure pushes the paper square upward and against the coin.
The paper appears to stick to the coin.

principles of flight 7
 NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS K-4
MUSEUM IN A BOX

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understanding about scientific inquiry

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
• Motions and forces

NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS 5-8

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understandings about scientific inquiry

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
• Motions and forces

NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS 9-12

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understandings about scientific inquiry

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
• Motions and forces

8
principles of flight
 MUSEUM IN A BOX
Activity 3 Foam Wing

GRADES K-12 Time Requirements: 40 minutes

Materials: Objective:

In the Box In this lesson students will learn about motions and forces as they:
1. Examine a giant foam wing and discuss the shape of the wing and airfoil, relating
Foam wing how the wing is shaped to create lift.
2. Experience the potential of lift while wearing a giant foam wing and standing in a
Provided by User stream of air from a fan that is meant to simulate a wind tunnel.

A quarter
Activity Overview:
Paper
In this activity, participants will have the opportunity to wear an arm-sized foam wing

Worksheets and stand in a simulated wind tunnel in order to experience the potential of lift.

None
Activity:

Reference Materials 1. Show

participants
Airfoil diagram (figure 3)
the giant foam
Conventional airfoils (figure 4)
wing. Ask them
Winglets (image 2)
to make a few
preliminary
Key Terms: observations
Air foil about the wing.
Air pressure
2. Direct
Air resistance
participants to examine the shape of one of the wing’s airfoils, which you will
Area Rule
define as the cross-section of the wing. Ask participants to describe the shape
Bernoulli Principle
of the airfoil. They will probably recognize that the upper surface of the airfoil is
Camber curved while the underside is relatively flat.
Chord
Coanda Effect 3. Show students the diagram of the airfoil. Discuss the locations and definitions of:
Drag camber, chord, leading edge, and trailing edge.

Laminar flow 4. Ask participants to identify the leading edge, trailing edge, camber, and chord of
Mach Number the foam wing.
Supersonic
Transonic

principles of flight 9
 5. Explain how air traveling over the curved upper surface of the wing moves faster
MUSEUM IN A BOX
than air moving under the wing. The faster air flowing over the top of the wing
creates lower pressure than the slower moving air under the wing. Lift is partially
achieved because high-pressure air pushes toward low-pressure air, pulling the
airplane upward.

6. Show the participants the diagram of conventional airfoil shapes. Discuss how
the shape of an airfoil will depend on the function of the airplane.

7. Select a participant to wear the giant foam wing. Have that participant stand
in the simulated wind tunnel (the stream of air coming from the fan) in order to
simulate a “lift” experience. Make sure the participant directs the leading edge
of the wing into the wind while holding on to the internal handgrips in order to
maintain control of the wing’s position.

8. Ask: If our wing wearer were to flap the wing, would he/she be able to achieve lift?
Participants will likely answer that lift would not be possible because the mass
of the person wearing the wing is too great compared to the size of the wing. In
addition, lift needs thrust (Newton’s third law). Because there is no thrust, it is not
possible for a person wearing the wing to fly.”

9. Ask the wing-wearing participant: “So while you cannot actually fly with the giant
foam wing, can you feel the potential of lift?”
Students should be able to feel the lift potential.

10. Now have the wing-wearing participant tilt the wing’s leading edge upward.

11. Ask: “What do you feel now?”

Students should be able to feel resistance or drag.

12. Elaborate on the participant’s response by introducing the terms: drag, air
resistance, air pressure, Coanda Effect, the Bernoulli Principle and Newton’s Third
Law. Determine how complex your explanations may need to be based on the
ages and experiences of your audience.

13. Next, have the participant wearing the wings pivot those wings so that the
leading edge is angled slightly downward.

14. Ask: “What do you feel now?”

Students should be able to feel more pressure on the top of the wing than they did with
the wing tilted in the other direction.

15. Have the participant compare and describe the feeling of different wing angles.

16. Allow other participants to wear the wings. Have each participant experiment
with other movements, such as quickly changing from an upward to a downward
tilt and back again. Try flapping or pivoting the wings so the tip of the wing is
facing the wind (fan).

10
principles of flight
17. Ask the participants to verbalize the physical feelings they experience and make

MUSEUM IN A BOX
connections to what they have learned about drag and lift.

18. After allowing students to experience lift in the simulated wind tunnel, explain
that NASA engineers and scientists continue to test different airplane models
in wind tunnels and simulate flight on computers in order to advance their
understanding of flight. Through their research, NASA researchers and engineers
are able to design and build safer, quieter, and more fuel-efficient airplanes.

19. At this point older participants may be introduced to the Area Rule, a theory
introduced in the 1950s by NASA scientist Richard Whitcomb. In 1952, Richard
Whitcomb discovered
an important
aeronautical design
process while working
at the NASA Langley
Research Center in
Langley, Virginia. His
design process is most
often referred to as the
Area Rule (Fig 6.). What
Whitcomb discovered (Photo courtesy of NASA)
was that by narrowing
the fuselage of an Img. 1 Richard Whitcomb
airplane, the drag of an
aircraft could be reduced while at
the same time provide an increase of
aircraft speed without the addition of
power. The fuselage is the body of the
airplane that holds together all parts of
an aircraft. Airplanes that employ the
Area Rule have a fuselage resembling Fig. 6 Area rule

an old fashion “Coke bottle.”

Since 1952, aircraft

designers have been
utilizing Whitcomb’s
Area Rule to design
aircraft that fly
higher, faster, and Fig. 7 Before and after area ruling
farther (Fig. 7).

principles of flight 1 1
 20. Explain that
MUSEUM IN A BOX
in addition to
Whitcomb’s Area
Rule, winglets
are one of the
most successful
examples of a
NASA aeronautical
innovation that is
presently being
utilized all around (Photo courtesy of NASA)

the world on all types

Img. 2 Winglets
of aircraft.
When the price of aircraft fuel was increasing in the 1970s, aircraft designers began
to look for additional ways to improve fuel efficiency. During that time, Richard
Whitcomb advanced
the concept for
winglets through
wind tunnel tests and
computer studies at
the NASA Langley
Research Center.
Winglets (Img. 2) are
vertical extensions on
wingtips that improve
an aircraft’s fuel (Photo courtesy of the United States Air Force)

efficiency and cruising

Img. 3 A Boeing B-1B Lancer over the Pacific ocean
range. Designed as
small airfoils, winglets
reduce the aerodynamic drag associated with vortices that develop at the wingtips
as the airplane moves through the air. Vortices are tubes of rotating air that are left
behind a wing as it produces lift.

Through his research, Whitcomb concluded that winglets produced twice the
benefit of a wingtip extension with the equivalent area. As a result, winglets
imposed much less weight and drag penalty than increased wingspan. By reducing
wingtip drag, fuel consumption goes down and range is extended.

Aircraft of various types and sizes can have winglets, from single-seat hang gliders
and ultra-lights all the way up to jumbo jets.

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principles of flight
NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS K-4

MUSEUM IN A BOX
SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understanding about scientific inquiry

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Abilities of technological design
• Understanding about science and technology

NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS 5-8

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understandings about scientific inquiry

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
• Motions and forces

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Abilities of technological design
• Understanding about science and technology

NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS 9-12

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understandings about scientific inquiry

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
• Motions and forces
• Interactions of energy and matter

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Abilities of technological design
• Understanding about science and technology

principles of flight 1 3
Reference Materials
Glossary

Airfoil:
The cross-section of an airplane wing

Air pressure:
The force exerted on objects by the weight of tiny particles of air (air molecules)

Air resistance:
Also known as drag

Area Rule:
Developed by Richard Whitcomb, the Whitcomb Area Rule is also known as the Transonic Area Rule; the Area Rule is
used in the design of an aircraft to reduce its drag at transonic and supersonic speeds, particularly between Mach 0.75
and 1.2

Bernoulli Principle:
A physical phenomenon named after the Swiss scientist Daniel Bernoulli who lived during the eighteenth century; the
principle states that “the pressure of a fluid [liquid or gas] decreases as the speed of the fluid increases”

Camber:
The asymmetry between the top and the bottom surfaces of an airfoil; an airfoil that is not cambered is called a
symmetric airfoil

Chord / Chord Line:

The distance from the leading to the trailing edges of a wing

Coanda Effect:
A phenomenon in which a stream of air or liquid attaches itself to a nearby surface

Drag:
The aerodynamic force that opposes an aircraft’s motion through the air; drag is a mechanical force generated by the
contact of a solid body with a fluid (liquid or gas)

Laminar Flow:
A non-turbulent flow that occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers with no disruption between the layers

Leading Edge:
The part of the wing that first contacts the air; alternatively it is the front edge of a wing

Lift:
The force that directly opposes the weight of an airplane and helps keep the airplane in the air

Mach number:
The Mach number is given as a ratio to the speed of sound; for example an aircraft flying at 1.5 times the speed of
sound is traveling at Mach 1.5
Newton’s Third Law:
A physical law that states that for every action of motion there is an equal and opposite reaction

Supersonic:
A speed greater than the speed of sound in a given medium, especially air; M (Mach) = 1.2 to 5.0 supersonic

Trailing edge
The rear edge of the wing; where the airflow separated by the leading edge rejoins

Transonic:
Speeds close to the speed of sound; M (Mach) = 0.8 to 1.2
Fig. 1 Wing pressure areas
Low Pressure
High Pressure
Fig. 2 Coanda effect
Fig. 3 Airfoil diagram
Trailing Edge
Leading Edge
Chord Line
Camber
Fig. 4 Laminar vs conventional flows

Laminar Flow

Conventional Flow
Fig. 5 Conventional airfoils

CONVENTIONAL AIRFOILS
Fig. 6 Area Rule
Fig. 7 Before and after area ruling
Images
 Img. 1 Richard Whitcomb
(Photo courtesy of NASA)
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 Img. 2 Winglets

(Photo courtesy of NASA)

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Img. 3 A Boeing B-1B Lancer over the Pacific ocean
(Photo courtesy of the United States Air Force)
MUSEUM IN A BOX

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 Aeronautics
Research
Mission
Directorate

Museum
in a
BOX Series

principles of flight
www.nasa.gov EP-2010-12-477-HQ